Eaton County restaurant inspections: Ratatouille, pizza sauce found with mold

CHARLOTTE — When county health inspectors visit local restaurants, they document problems that need addressing to meet standards set by Michigan food codes and law.

The most serious problems are considered priority violations, which present potential health hazards and should be corrected immediately. Priority foundation violations do not present immediate health hazards but should be corrected in a timely manner. Consequently, follow-up inspections and reports may be generated.

In most cases, violations are corrected, and this information isn't an indication that violations at any establishment are an ongoing issue.

Here are the most serious violations in Eaton County for restaurants in June:

Five priority violations and one priority foundation violation found at :

Block House , 714 S. Main St., Olivet

An employee was observed placing with their bare hands two orange slices as garnishes for cocktails. Corrected. Containers of ratatouille and pizza sauce were found in coolers with mold. The inspector found issues with reheating methods, as well as food in coolers, including sausage, chicken and mozzarella cheese, being a few degrees over the 41 degree or below standard. Foods including ratatouille, apple pie filling and crema were being stored past their discard dates. A container of pico de gallo was in the cooler without any date markings.

Three priority violations were found at :

T&D Coney , 209 S. Main St., Eaton Rapids

June 4 follow-up letter indicating, after a May 31 inspection, "if the aforementioned violation continues to persist upon re-inspection of the facility, an office conference may be required with a fee of $259."

The May 31 inspection report indicated the following: "At the time of inspection, an employee was observed cracking raw shell eggs into pans with their gloves, then proceeding to use the same gloves to handle utensils and to open cooler doors." The employee was reminded to change gloves to avoid contamination. The dish machine had not been showing chlorine residue on a test strip so the machine was primed to remove air bubbles from the sanitizer line and the machine tested properly. Some foods including ham, cheese slices, and raw shell eggs, were above 41 degrees F. The ham and cheese slices had been overfilled in their cooler containers and were not being maintained in the cold zone of the unit. The raw shell eggs were sitting out on a shelf above the griddle, and had reached 76 degrees F.

"As the above-mentioned foods were stated to have been out for less than 4 hours, particularly the eggs having been out for half an hour, they were saved and moved to a working reach-in cooler to come back down to 41 F. CORRECTED. This is a chronic violation. A warning letter will be sent to the facility."

Two priority violations and two priority foundation violations found at :

Acapulco Mexican Grill , 112 S. Cochran Ave., Charlotte

A carton of eggs out at room temperature read 76 degrees Fahrenheit, more than 30 degrees over the required 41 degrees or below. The person in charge discarded the eggs. While the situation was considered corrected, "this is a repeat violation," the report said. Two pest strips known to be harmful to humans were discarded and considered corrected. A basement prep-area hand sink was without soap, and the batteries to a dispenser were not properly working. "At the time of inspection, the facility's front bar was observed being used as a dump sink." All issues were considered resolved after some corrective actions.

Two priority violations and one priority foundation violation were found at :

MorningLory Cafe & Bakery , 115 N. Bridge St., Dimondale

June 27 follow-up inspection found issues resolved: In May, two containers of chicken noodle soup were found to be 45 degrees F in a cooler. "As the chicken noodle had been prepared the day before and had not cooled in the necessary timeframe, it was discarded at the time of inspection." An inspector advised the purchase of more large pans or containers to create ice baths, or ice paddles, to help cool liquid items like the soup. There were two gallons of milk at 44 F on the right side of a cooler, three degrees over the maximum allowed. It was found that the left side of the cooler was holding at 38 degrees F.

Two priority foundation violations were found at :

Capitol Harley-Davidson , 9550 Woodlane Drive, Dimondale

A probe food thermometer and sanitizer test strips could not be located at the inspection. An inspector considered the issues resolved at a follow-up inspection.

Joe's Gizzard City , 120 W. Main St., Potterville

There were no paper towels at a handwashing sink, and a can was observed with a large dent on itsseam. Both issues were corrected.

Rusty Mug , 5421 W. Saginaw Hwy., Lansing

Follow-up: "CORRECTED. The PIC was able to stock the paper-towel. The PIC was able to install a new soapdispenser above the handwashing sink and send a photo."

One priority violation and four priority foundation violations were found at :

Toarmina's Pizza , 3700 S. Waverly Road, Lansing

An employee did not wash their hands as required, coming in from the outside and starting to make a pizza with their bare hands. "They also were observed handling a telephone and then resumed making the pizza without washing hands." The employee restroom didn't have paper towels. A meat slicer had an accumulation of "old food residue" on the blade and guard. Regarding two hunks of partially sliced deli meat cut three days earlier, one salami and one turkey, the person in charge added prep dates for a correction. New chlorine test strips were required within 10 days.

One priority violation and three priority foundation violations found at :

BlackDog Coffee , 120 W. Hamlin St., Eaton Rapids

"At the time of (a May) inspection, the PIC was observed using the restroom and then taking a customer's order. They did not wash their hands before proceeding to make the order. This was discussed with the PIC, and they said they would be sure to do this moving forward. They were observed properly washing hands after. CORRECTED." There also were chronic date marking issues, no probe food thermometer, and test strips that were discolored and no longer usable because they had fallen in the water. A follow-up inspection was planned.

For the June 27 follow-up inspection, "the facility filled out a risk control plan for the chronic violation at time of follow-up. All violations have been corrected."

One priority violation and two priority foundation violations were found at :

Falsetta's Restaurant , 138 S. Waverly Road, Lansing

A container of alfredo sauce was in the cooler around 46 to 47 F. "As it was not known how long the alfredo sauce had been above 41 F, it was discarded at the time of inspection. CORRECTED." Date marking issues included two containers of spinach dip without date marks, a container of sliced ham that should have been discarded, and a container of prepared mac n cheese with no date marks. Issues with cooling methods included two containers of prepared meatball meat cooling in large, deep plastic containers. Cooling is supposed to be accomplished by "(1) Placing the FOOD in shallow pans; (2) Separating the FOOD into smaller or thinner portions; (3) Using rapid cooling EQUIPMENT; (4) Stirring the FOOD in a container placed in an ice water bath; (5) Using containers that facilitate heat transfer; (6) Adding ice as an ingredient; or (7) Other effective methods."

One priority violation and one priority foundation violation were found at :

Little Panda Chinese Restaurant , 5439 W. Saginaw Hwy., Lansing

An employee was packaging egg rolls into a to-go order with their bare hands. There were no paper towels at a handwashing sink. The spring rolls were discarded, and towels were provided.

The Tangy Crab , 7433 W. Saginaw Hwy., Lansing

The facility's dish machine was reading 0 ppm of chlorine sanitizer. The PIC agreed to use 3-compartment sink until repaired, and a follow-up inspection was planned. There was no soap at a hand sink. Both issues corrected.

One priority violation was found at:

Dimondale Nursing & Rehabilitation Center , 4000 N. Michigan Road, Dimondale

"At time of inspection, two containers of cooked red potato chunks in the hot holding cabinet were not uniformly held at 135 F. Some sections of the potatoes were between 126 and 132 F." An employee reheated the potatoes in a steamer, and the temperature went up to 209 F. The issue was considered resolved.

Hibachi Grill & Sushi Buffet , 5837 W. Saginaw Hwy., Lansing

A spoon used for raw beef was observed being stored "onto of a spoon used for raw chicken. Along with that, the raw chicken spoon was being stored in the raw beef container." All raw food utensils are supposed to be stored separately to avoid cross-contamination from foods that have different cooking temperatures.

Three priority foundation violations were found at :

Funtyme Adventure Park , 6295 E. Saginaw Hwy., Grand Ledge

In a follow-up inspection: "The facility submitted a picture of a probe thermometer reading 38 F between packages of hot dogs in the reach-in cooler. CORRECTED. The facility submitted a picture showing that a proper ambient air thermometer is now in the reach-in. CORRECTED. The facility showed that chlorine test strips are now on hand. CORRECTED."

One priority foundation violation was found at:

An Affair to Remember Catering , 5660 W. Saginaw Hwy., Lansing

Food probe thermometers that could read cold temperatures in the facility were not calibrated in the right range of accuracy. "Several more new digital probe thermometers were ordered during inspection, and should arrive soon. Check these often to ensure accuracy as well. CORRECTED."

Corner Cone , 201 W. Jefferson St., Grand Ledge

There were no chlorine test strips.

Country Fever Dance Ranch , 13350 S. M-66 Hwy., Bellevue

The quat test strips were expired.

Lick-ity Split , 103 N. Bridge St., Grand Ledge

No food probe thermometer could be located during the May inspection. The situation was deemed corrected during a June follow-up inspection.

Mancino's Pizza & Grinders , 603 N. Waverly Road, Lansing

A handwashing sink had dishes stacked inside of it. Corrected.

Contact editor Susan Vela at svela@lsj.com or 248-873-7044. Follow her on Twitter @susanvela

This article originally appeared on Lansing State Journal: Eaton County restaurant inspections: Ratatouille, pizza sauce found with mold